Our strategy is straightforward. We first approached Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County to establish a working partnership. Their insight has been invaluable in understanding their client selection process, ensuring affordability for homeowners post-donation, preventing disruptions to the surrounding neighborhood’s economic conditions by stabilizing appraisal prices, and guaranteeing that the home is given to a family in genuine need—one that will see a transformational impact on their lives. 

Beyond facilitating community connections, our partnership with Habitat has allowed us to closely observe their homebuilding process. We have collaborated with their construction manager and architectural design firm, Architectural Expressions, for consultation, modeled our floor plans and material choices on their affordable housing model, and even participated in their local builds. This aligns with our plan to integrate student labor into our own project.